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Temporary greens and/or tees require special attention.
Temporary tees and/or greens, when it comes to posting, call OGA.
There are several reasons for temporary tees and greens: damage, construction, weather, increased/decreased yardage to mention a few. Have you moved to a temporary teeing ground in order to build new tee boxes? Has your green or tee access been cut off do to the pond flooding? Has access to the green blocked to reconstructing the green, adding or removing bunkers or trees? Is the par 5 hole being played as a par 3 due to new cart paths being put in or a ‘misfortunate irrigation issue’?
With the official golf season officially open as of March 1st, we often receive questions as to whether to post scores or not. Are these scores acceptable for handicapping? Should we suspend posting until construction is finished? This is where OGA, as your authorized golf association, comes in.
Let’s start with the Rules of Handicapping (ROH):
2.1/3 – Returning Scores for Handicap Purposes While Playing on Temporary Greens or Tees
The Authorized Association (that’s OGA) should determine whether scores made under temporary course conditions are acceptable for handicap purposes. The OGA should also determine whether a temporary modification to the Course Rating and Slope Rating is required to reflect the temporary changes per Appendix G: The Golf Course, Course Rating and Slope Rating
If players are playing an authorized format that allows for posting (i.e. not a scramble or 3 club tournament) they should still be posting their scores.
When it comes to “Temps”, depending on the exact nature and timing of the situation, we could have one of several different recommendations, from posting net par (ROH 3.2) or most likely score (ROH 3.3), to changing GHIN to reflect the situation, or even manually posting to an adjusted Course/Slope Rating for a short period of time.
Please call us if you are the Handicap Chairman, Golf Professional, Superintendent or authorized representative of your golf course. The sooner we know the situation in respect to your course, the quicker we can get you an answer for you and your golfers.
When contacting OGA for your temporary rating, please have the following information together:
- Which tees are involved?
- Which greens are involved?
- How many yards difference is there?
- How long will the temps be in effect? (start and finish dates if possible)
Contact: Gretchen Yoder, Director of Handicapping and Course Rating, Gretchen@oga.org